Starry Night
by BabySays
Summary: Big brown eyes, that's her first clear memory, she's been trying to recreate those eyes and what they represent, ever since,through paintings. That single memory has made her who she is. She never knew who those eyes belonged to, at least not until now.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own skins...

**Starry Night**

"So…Miss Campbell, what's your first clear memory?"

Brown, big brown eyes .That's the first thing she recalls seeing. She was enthralled by those eyes, she never could find out who they belonged to. But she still dreams about them, most of the time that is. She believes she was around 4 when she saw those brown orbs, looking at her, staring right into her soul.

"…Miss Campbell?"

"I…I don't really know"

She lied, simply because of the fact that it was her secret; she didn't feel the need to share it with anyone else.

"Ok then, who is your muse? What inspires you to create art?"

Again, her mind was filled with brown. She knew it was sort of pathetic, holding on to a vague memory of someone she couldn't quite remember, don't get it wrong, she didn't go around life painting brown eyes; she just wanted to recreate what those eyes represented: Naivety, uncertainty, love. But above all things, those eyes exuded aliveness. That's what she wanted to recreate, life itself.

"I think everything can get to inspire you, it just depends on how you see it"

"Well, that's it. Thanks you for your time, Miss Campbell. It was a pleasure"

"Pleasure's mine"

With that they said their goodbyes. Naomi wasn't famous or a celebrity of any sorts, but her work had acquired notoriety in the past years. She'd been called a lot of things over the course of her life: genius, prodigy, hopeless romantic, sarcastic bitch, among other things. But none of those words could define her; she was simply Naomi, whoever that is.

* * *

><p>She walked back to the flat she'd been sharing with her best mates for the past five years. It wasn't anything too big or luxurious but it was more than enough. It was home, somewhere they could leave behind all the pressures from the "real world", a sanctuary for their thoughts and creations.<p>

She made her way upstairs until she reached her door, knocking lightly. There was always someone in there, so there wasn't much of a point in carrying her keys around.

The door flung open to reveal the naked form of his friend.

"Naomikins!"

"Cook, ever heard of underwear?" She asked as she made her way inside the flat.

"Oh, c'mon you know you love it. How was the interview?"

"Fine, I guess."

"Aww, our Naomikins is becoming famous" He said whilst ruffling her hair.

"Oh fuck off, Cook."

"What was it for?"

"Some independent magazine or something like that" She stated,sitting down on a chair.

"I see…" He said, sitting in front of his friend.

"Where are Freds and J, anyway?"

"They were going to buy a videogame, I think. But they are coming back soon, so get ready!"

"Ready for what?"

"We have to celebrate, yeah? We're going out tonight, all of us" He said, whilst standing up.

"Cook…"

"No excuses Babe, you'll thank me later."

"I'm not a babe!" She screamed,though his friend had already dissapeared into his bedroom.

* * *

><p>Three hours and half a bottle of vodka later, they were finally at the club. They found a booth at a secluded corner. Even though the club was big, it was packed; it seemed like a fairly popular place, though she never heard about it before. There was a mass of bodies on the dancefloor, all of them getting lost to the beat of the music. Music she didn't like, it didn't mean anything to her, they were like puppets, she didn't understand it. But it was fascinating still, all the movement, the colours. It was simply amazing.<p>

"Who wants some shots?" Asked Cook,placing a tray full of tequila shots on the table.

"As much as I would like to, my pills and alcohol don't mix well, so I'm fine with my mango juice"

"Yeah, we know J. Freds? Naomi?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"That's the spirit Blondie! It's Four shots each, so ladies….Let's get fucking mental!"

It all went down from there, Cook pulled some pills out of a bag which Freddie and Naomi gladly accepted. Before she could realise, she was already part of the mass of bodies, it was great, she felt great. She felt someone grinding behind her, grabbing her hips. It wasn't what she wanted; it felt disgusting so she pushed the person away. It's not like she was disgusted with human contact per se it was just that it didn't feel right. She was part of something without really connecting to anyone. She soon got tired, and made her way back to the booth where JJ and Freddie were sitting on.

"Where's Cook?"

"There," Freddie said pointing to the bar "He's coming back with a girl"

She turned her head, and got greeted by the sight of a grinning cook with a slim brunette by his side.

"Guys, this is Effy"

She simply smirked at them, barely acknowledging their presence. Naomi was intrigued by now, there was something about this girl that she couldn't figure out, she knew it was stupid to think you can figure out someone just by looking at them, but she was really good at reading people. Too good, actually.

"Effy, these are my best mates: Freds, GayJ and Naomikins."

"Interesting," She said staring at all of them. "I have to go though; I've got to find my friend,she's new in town"

"Bring her, we don't mind yeah?, I'll buy drinks for everyone"

"Ok…"

And so she left, Cook sauntered off to get some shots. Leaving them alone once more, it wasn't long until JJ started rambling about the latest Legend of Zelda videogame. They didn't stop him though; they were to out of it to care. Naomi actually found it fascinating.

"So what you're saying is…that this guy link, fights all of these monsters, just to save this girl he barely knows"

"Yeah, pretty much"

"And he's done it 16 times?"

"Exactly"

"Well…that's determination…"

They kept talking about it for ten minutes until the "mysterious girl" appeared again.

"Where's Cook?"

"He went to buy some shots," Freddie said

"Well this is my friend, Emily."

In that moment time seemed to have stopped for Naomi…Emily…Her eyes, they resembled so much to the brown orbs she remembered, they were different though, they didn't seemed as alive. But she was sure it was her still. Her features, her fiery red hair, everything about the girl was magnificent, she was so…words couldn't describe the beautiful sight in front of her.

"Naomi? Naomi? Are you ok?" Asked JJ, in a worried tone.

That's when time started running back again, she felt sick, tired. Soon, it all became blurry. She fainted; the last thing she remembered was brown, brown and red dancing around each other in beautiful ways.


	2. Chapter 2

She tried to open up her eyes, but her eyelids felt too heavy to do that. She tried to move, but her body didn't respond to her, she tried not to panic, she'd heard about this kind of thing before. It was some sort of sleep paralysis, plus, all the alcohol and drugs she ingested couldn't possibly help with the state she was currently immersed in.

She couldn't move, but she could still hear what was happening around her. She heard continuous footsteps, as if somebody was pacing around her, she heard two voices, it seemed like they were arguing about something, it took her a while to make out what they were saying.

"Cook… are you sure she's ok?"

"Yeah, man. I've seen this kind of shit happening before"

"Shouldn't we take her to a hospital?"

"Chilax Jay, she just needs some rest"

"What if she's suffering from alcohol poisoning?..."

"Trust me man. It's alright; I wouldn't let anything bad happen to her, would I?"

She felt tired and numb, so she did the only thing she could, and drifted back off to sleep once more.

* * *

><p>She opened up her eyes; an immediate pang of pain struck her head as she did so. She took in her surroundings, she was in her bedroom, lying in bed and tucked under the quilt. She slowly scanned the bedroom from her current position, careful not to move much so the pain wouldn't increase, until something caught her attention. It was Freddie, sitting on a chair besides her bed.<p>

He was asleep; she tried not to make much noise so she wouldn't wake him up, but it wasn't too long until he woke up by himself.

She glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand, it was almost midnight. She'd been sleeping for almost 24 hours.

"Naomi?" Asked Freddie, rubbing his eyes

"Hmmm?" She mumbled in response.

"Thank god, you're awake" He said whilst standing up and sitting on her bed.

"What happened?" She asked, as she tried to sit.

"No, don't move, you'll make it worst," He said whilst handing her some painkillers and a glass of water. "We were last night at the club, and you just passed out. We brought you back to the flat and took turns to take care of you; we knew you were going to be ok. But Jay was worried sick. He thought you might be dead and…"

"The girl…" She barely whispered.

Realisation hit her, the girl, the person who had haunted her dreams countless nights. She finally found her, found her muse, she couldn't believe her luck.

"Who?" asked Freddie a little confused by his friend's actions.

"There was a girl last night. Remember? Redhead, short"

"Oh yeah, Emily"

"Yeah, exactly! Do you know who she is or anything?"

"I don't know, we left after you passed out so we didn't get the chance to talk much, why?"

She couldn't believe it, she lost her, she lost her as soon as she found her. That's what life was about, losing things as soon you gain them. Maybe it was for the better, she still couldn't remember where she'd met the girl before, maybe said girl was a bitch, who would totally disappoint her by her actions, yeah perhaps it just wasn't meant to be.

"Naomi…are you alright?" Asked her friend in a worried tone

"Yeah, just a bit tired. I just need some rest."

She was lying, she wasn't "alright", she felt completely devastated. She knew it was stupid when she didn't even know if she'd met the girl before for real. But she based her life around that memory, and she felt as if she owed something to the girl or whoever the person from her dreams was.

"Ok, I'll leave you to it" Said Freddie, standing up to leave.

And so she drifted back off to sleep, with nothing but the redhead in mind. Of course she dreamt of her that night, of those beautiful brown orbs staring right at her. They seemed different now though, as if the girl was dead. Sadness invaded Naomi, It wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare.

* * *

><p>It had been a week, since the infamous "night out accident" as JJ liked to refer to. Naomi knew she probably would never see the girl, Emily, again. But she couldn't help to think about her most of the time, she was such a beautiful creature, yet she seemed so sad and lonely.<p>

Naomi had other things to worry about though; she had been invited to be part of an art exhibition that was being held at a friend's gallery. The exhibition consisted of contemporary art, by 20 artists. They switched artists each day, and today was Naomi's turn.

Her contribution to the exhibition consisted of 10 paintings out of her "body of work". She loved to see people's reaction about her work as long as they were genuine and not judgmental pricks who think they are smarter than anyone else in the fucking world and who try to mesmerize her with their "knowledge" on art.

She didn't care if she sold her paintings or not, she didn't care about money. She painted because it made her feel alive. Painting felt like directing an orchestra to her. In which her baton is the paint brush. She conducts the brush in order to recreate sounds, tastes, emotions.

Her work speaks for itself.

She felt a light pat on her back; she turned her head only to find the same mysterious girl, from that night at the club, staring at her with her piercing blue eyes.

"Naomikins, right?" She asked with a smirk on her lips

Immediately thoughts about Emily started making their way back into her head. Was Emily with her? Was this a second chance? Was this a signal? When did she turn into such a sap?

"Umm yeah…I mean no…I'm Naomi. You're Effy, right?"

"Yeah…Is this what you do when you're not passing out in clubs?" She asked whilst pointing at the paintings on the wall

"Hmm…Yes" She said, trying to hide her embarrassment. Thinking she must have made such a tit of herself that night.

"Post-Impressionism, Interesting…I came here with my friend, actually. She's really interested in art"

"Emily?"

"Yes, I'll go find her. We'll stop by later…maybe." She smirked at her

"Ok, I'll be here until 8"

"Shame this thing ends so early" She said as started walking away.

"Yeah…" Naomi said, even though she was sure no one could hear her.

* * *

><p>Time went by, and Naomi waited and waited, but Effy was nowhere to be seen. She talked to some people who approached her about her work; she actually sold half of her paintings. Soon, it was already eight, time for her to leave. She was meeting the guys at a pub nearby.<p>

She grabbed her coat and made her way to the exit, when she heard someone calling her name.

"Naomi…"

It was Effy with the beautiful redhead by her side. She mentally scolded herself for using that term to describe the redhead so much. Beauty was a concept that had always troubled her; it isn't something you can judge at first sight, the concept implies so many things which are invisible to the eye and subjective. But that girl, there was something about her that was simply impressive.

"I thought we wouldn't be able to find you," The brunette said as she approached her "this is Emily"

"Hi" Said the redhead, looking at the floor.

"Hey, I'm Naomi" She said, waving at her. "I was actually heading to a pub nearby, do you want to come? I swear I'm not a serial killer or anything"

"Ems?" Asked the brunette, staring at her friend

"…Yeah… why not?" Answered the redhead with a hesitant tone.

"Ok, then. As long as you don't pass out or anything" Said the brunette with her smirk firm in place

* * *

><p>The walk to the pub was made mostly in silence. Naomi wasn't the most talkative person in the world and it seemed as if Emily and Effy weren't either.<p>

"Well, here we are" Said Naomi whilst holding the door open for Emily and Effy to go inside.

"Wow, you're quite the gentleman" Said the brunette whilst smirking at Naomi. The redhead simply stared at her, making Naomi blush as if she was still a teenager.

"Blondie!" Cook shouted from the booth JJ, Freddie and him were sitting at. "Look at you, bringing two fit birds along, like a champ. Effy, Emily! What a surprise! Sit down, I've just ordered a round of pints."

"Hello to you too, Cook" Said Effy, sitting by his side.

"Hi" Said Emily, quietly.

"Where did you find them, Blondie?"

"They were at the gallery"

"Oh, how did that go?"

"It was ok,I guess"

Naomi sat between Effy and Emily. Freddie and JJ were engaged in a heated discussion about why Battlefield was better than Call of Duty.

"Why weren't they with you at the gallery if they are your friends?" Asked Effy.

"Well, they have before. But that didn't go well" She explained, smiling at the memory.

She remembers her first exhibition; Cook arrived shitfaced and was thrown out of the gallery after 20 minutes, not before exposing his naked figure for everyone to see. They didn't talk for a week until Cook showed up at her bedroom, with some shitty film and a pack of garibaldi's in hand.

"I see…"

"But it's ok, we support each other. They've seen all of my work"

The round of pints arrived, and everyone started drinking. Except for JJ, who always seemed to carry a flask with mango juice around.

"So…Emily? What brings you to good old London?" Asked Naomi after a while, she recalled Effy saying Emily was new in town so she tried to "break the ice".

"Just…some stuff that happened" Emily seemed reluctant about sharing anything from her past. Naomi was fine with it; she wouldn't push her if she didn't want to share some things.

"Oh…I could show you around…if you want me to."

"Thanks that would be…nice…Eff works all week, so I'm alone most of the time"

"I'll give you my number…I'm free all week. I don't really have a working schedule."

Naomi knew it sounded rushed and desperate, but she didn't care. She wanted to meet the girl, figure her out.

"Yeah…that would be nice, I guess. By the way, we're already making plans to meet up and I don't even know your last name…"

"Uhg…I'll tell you but, promise you won't laugh"

Her name was something she really wasn't proud of. It didn't help much whilst growing up.

"I promise, I won't"

"Well, Emily…"

"Fitch" The redhead completed the sentence

"Emily Fitch, nice to meet you, I'm…Naomi Campbell"

Emily remained silent for a couple seconds. "Are you shitting me?" She asked, staring at Naomi.

"I'm not, I swear," The redhead started fidgeting with her hands "Go on, you can laugh. I don't mind"

And just like that, Naomi's ears were filled by the sound of the loveliest laugh she'd ever heard…


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's a new update, I want to thank everyone for the reviews, I really appreciate them. **

**And about the Call of Duty thing in the last chapter, sorry I thought I wrote it differently, it's fixed now.**

**So, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

There are lots of things people don't know about Emily Fitch, not because she doesn't want them to, but because no one ever asks.

She always felt left out, overshadowed by her much more popular sister. Ever since they were born Katie required more attention, Emily was always the quiet one, the shy one. Even if their mother seemed to only care about Katie, Emily had her father. Rob Fitch was the loveliest man on earth, always protecting her; she was the apple of his eye. Rob would never admit it to anyone, but Emily was really her favourite child which might sound awful to some but he just couldn't help to feel that way.

Emily was happy as long as she had her daddy by her side.

"Daddy, I don't want to go to school" she said with a pout

"Emsy, you have to," Her father sighed "I promise I'll take you to the park as soon as I get back from work. " He said whilst smiling

"Hmm…Alright…" She complied, still pouting.

"That's the spirit, love. Now c'mon, Fitch hug ," He said, as he enveloped her little body in a hug "I love you, Emsy…"

Those were the last words she heard from her father. He died in a car accident later on that day. It took a lot of time and therapy for her to stop crying over the death of her father, she felt truly alone and terrified. It was too much for an eight year old to bear, but her mother didn't actually care, she was more concerned about James and Katie, she always was. Her mother was more concerned about maintaining her lifestyle than she was about her husband's death and her traumatized daughter. So Emily had to learn how to take care of herself from a young age.

* * *

><p>Once she started college, Emily decided it was time to make a change, to stand for herself. It was hard though, she had always been known as "Katie's sister"; no one even cared about looking at her as an individual, not until Elizabeth Stonem appeared into her life.<p>

Effy was cool and mysterious, she didn't give a shit about anyone or at least she pretended not to, and that's why everyone followed her around. Effy seemed to have taken a special interest in Emily, much to Katie's displeasure who wanted nothing more but for Effy to notice her.

Emily always knew, she always knew there was something different about her, she never saw herself marrying a handsome, tall bloke. She was not waiting for a Romeo, she was waiting for her Juliet to come and sweep her off her feet.

Effy was the first person Emily came out to.

"Eff…I need to tell you something" She said in a hesitant tone

"Yeah?" The brunette looked at her

"I think I'm gay"

"…Ok" Effy shrugged

"Really?" The redhead asked

"Yes, do you want me to set you up with someone?" The brunette smirked

"Fuck off" The redhead chuckled

She was glad she had Effy by her side; she was the only person who could understand her. But Effy had problems as well; her parents' divorce and her brother leaving for Uni caused her a mental breakdown. Effy started hearing voices which consequently led her to attempt suicide, Emily was the one who found her, she felt guilty, how did she not see it coming?.

Later on that year, Effy's mother took her to travel across the world, trying to make it up for all the years of lousy parenting.

* * *

><p>At age 18, Emily decided it was time for her to come out to her mother; she couldn't keep hiding from her family anymore, after all, why would she? It's not like she was ill, being gay wasn't a disease. Also, her mother had several gay friends, she wouldn't mind, would she?<p>

She thought the right time to do it would be when it was just the two of them at home.

"Mum…I need to tell you something" she said whilst sitting on the living room sofa

"Alright, what's wrong?" asked her mum with a worried tone

"I…I'm gay" She finally said

Her mother felt silent for a while.

"It's ok , I'm sure this is only a phase…"

"Mum"

"Once you find the right guy you'll realise and…"

"Mum, please" her daughter pleaded

"I know this lovely boy who…"

"Mum!...I'm gay, I'm sure. I've always known…"

"You're not letting it go right?" Her mother released a sigh of exasperation

"Mum…I…"

"Get out… Get out of my house right now! "

"Are you serious?"

"…You're not welcome in here anymore. This is all that Stonem's girl fault"

"No! Mum…Effy has nothing to do with this"

"What would your father think?"

_He would support me_, the redhead thought.

* * *

><p>She had no one, nowhere to go. Effy was still traveling, fuck knows where, and Emily couldn't contact her. Her mother disowned her, and her sister seemed to be disgusted with having someone like Emily as her sister, so she chose to ignore her. Her little brother was still too young to do anything, but she knew he supported her.<p>

She felt desperate and terrified, so she left with the first person who promised her a new life, said person was a girl called Mandy, she had seen her around college a few times. Mandy promised to take her to India, where they would get established and start a new life.

"Just as friends" she promised, and Emily believed her.

Mandy seemed nice at first, but suddenly turned out to be a manipulative and possessive bitch when Emily didn't show any interest in shagging her.

"You're fucking ungrateful that's what you are!" Yelled the taller girl

"Mandy, I've told you before…I…"

"You know what? You're just a stuck up bitch! Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"Mandy, sorry! I know you´ve been great to me, but I just can't"

"Then, you're on your own now"

"Mandy please! Don't leave…I…I've got no one else…I know no one here…" The redhead pleaded

"Yeah well… you should've thought of that before playing hard to get" Said Mandy before grabbing all of her things and storming out of the room they were staying in, leaving a astonished Emily behind.

* * *

><p>So she was all on her own once again, except that she found herself in another country, with a different language and culture. She tried to contact Effy, but she didn't have such luck. She put her pride aside and called her mother, who hung up the phone as soon as she heard her daughter's voice.<p>

It was then that Emily changed, she couldn't be herself anymore, she had to survive, she needed to survive.

She worked at different places; she did anything she could to get by until she had enough money to get back to England. Life was hard, Life was shit.

And yes, Emily Fitch survived but she didn't feel alive anymore. She was just an empty shell, and when she felt, all she felt was sorrow.

It took her two years to save enough money to go back to England, at that point she didn't even know if she wanted to go back anymore. But she did, simply because she didn't know what else to do.

* * *

><p>Once she was back in Bristol, she realised that it wasn't much different from being in India; she was all on her own still. She found a job as a cook in a restaurant, which gave her just enough to rent a shitty flat. She had no hope left, how would she manage to cope? She kept living like that, she got used to it.<p>

A year went by, until everything suddenly changed.

"Emily!" Yelled her scruffy boss.

"Yes?" She asked without looking at him.

"There's a woman looking for you out there"

"Who?" She asked disbelief, She knew no one

"I don't give a damn, just hurry the fuck up so you can continue working" The old man snapped at her. She didn't say anything else; she simply made her way out of the kitchen. She couldn't afford to lose the job.

And that's when she saw her, the only person she could ever truly rely on. She thought Effy forgot about her, she thought she had moved on. Emily stood still simply staring at her long lost friend.

"Emily? I've been looking for you everywhere, where have you been?"

That was all it took for the redhead to react, she threw herself into her friend's arms, and started sobbing uncontrollably for the first time in three years.

"Shh…It's ok, I'm here" her friend tried to soothe her, whilst stroking her hair.

"Eff…I…This has all been shit and I…"

"We'll talk about it later, I'm taking you with me"

"I can't…I have to work…"

"Em…"

"It´s the only thing I…"

"Emily!...Look at me," She said whilst taking the redhead's face between her hands "I've been looking for you ever since I came back, that was a year ago. It took a long time, but I'm ok now…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you when you needed me the most, I need you to trust me, please let me take care of you"

And she did, she let her friend put all the pieces back together. Even though Effy lived in London, she stayed in Bristol with Emily until she was ready to move out. It wasn't that Emily was fond of Bristol, it was just that once you get used to a certain way of living you get too scared to leave it.

It took half a year for Emily to agree to move in with Effy, she started laughing again at least, but she couldn't trust people, not yet. There were nights though, were it all came rushing back to her. Her father's death, her mother's hate, her sister's indifference. And she felt guilty; she started believing that perhaps she did deserve everything that happened to her.

* * *

><p>That's why when she met Naomi, she couldn't believe the way the blonde looked at her, she seemed completely mesmerized by the redhead, as if she was something special. Emily had never been special or considered herself that way in her entire life. The blonde had offered to show her around, but Emily was still reluctant about taking her up on the offer, she couldn't trust her, not yet.<p>

"You should call her you know" Her brunette friend said interrupting her thoughts.

"What?" Emily asked playing dumb

"Naomi"

"I barely know her"

"Does it matter?"

"No but…"

"Is not like you are going to marry her, is it?"

"No…"

"Unless you're interested on her"

"what? No! I've only seen her twice"

"Yeah, well. I've seen you staring at your phone every hour for the past two days"

"Oh, shut up"

"I'm just saying she seems nice that's it" Her friend concluded leaving the room

* * *

><p>It took Emily three weeks to finally pluck up the courage and call the blonde.<p>

"Cook! Shut the fuck up!," She heard the blonde screaming "Uhm…Hello?"

"Hi, it's Emily"

"Oh Emily…Hi," The blonde sounded shocked

"I…I know it's been weeks but, do you think we could hang out sometime this week?"

"Yeah, sure. I can pick you up or we could meet up somewhere or…"

"I'll text you my address" The redhead cut her off before she could continue rambling

"Ok. That would be nice"

"And Naomi…"

"Yes?"

"Just…Nevermind"

And with that she hung up. She wanted to thank her, what for? She wasn't exactly sure but that would seem weird due to the fact that they barely knew each other.

Looking back at her life, there are so many things she could've done differently. So many, and now she's scarred for life. She won't make the same mistakes again though; she's a different person now…


	4. Chapter 4

People, they come and go, in and out of your life. This wasn't anything out of the ordinary for Naomi; she was used to the idea. But she couldn't stop feeling frustrated for some reason

So she did the only thing that could give her some sort of release, and she painted and painted until her fingers felt sore. She was convinced she was going mad, this couldn't be proper behavior, she felt frustrated, confused though she couldn't understand why.

That's the state in which Freddie found her, lying on the floor next to her easel staring at the ceiling.

"What are you doing Naomi?" He asked whilst standing in the door frame of her room.

"What does it look like?" She asked without looking at him

He entered the room, staring at all the mess in it until he came to a stop, there it was, a beautiful painting of a smiling redhead, he found himself once again absolutely mesmerized by the kind of art his friend created.

"You know, it sort of looks like that girl, Emily" he said whilst inspecting the portrait in front of him.

"What? No, it isn't her" She was quick to deny it

"Then who is it?"

"I don't know" She muttered

"Jesus! It really is her isn't it?"

"No, how can you even tell when you're stoned as fuck?"

"Oi! I function better when stoned" He said whilst lying down next to her

"If you say so, how's work going?" She asked, Freddie had been working for the past year at a shitty pub, he hated it, he only took the job because his boss gave him the opportunity to play his songs occasionally, it's not that he was shit at playing. It was just that most people found it boring, god knows why, Naomi found his music calming, it had the substance most music nowadays lacked of. But that was just her opinion.

"Still shit as usual, although I'm doing a gig on Sunday. You're coming, right?" He asked

"Of course I am"

"You know, I feel the same as you do" He said after a while

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since I saw that girl, Effy, I can't stop thinking about her"

"Oh" She was surprised; Freddie never did mention that, from what Naomi recalls he didn't even talk to her.

"Is just…I didn't have the guts to talk to her, you know?" He continued

"This isn't about Emily though-"

"C'mon, I know you" Her friend cut her off

They didn't say much after that, it was better that way.

* * *

><p>When she finally left her room several hours later, leaving the sleeping figure of her friend behind, she was greeted by the sight of JJ and Cook intently staring at the TV screen in front of them. Even though JJ didn't live with them, he was practically there every other day.<p>

"This is fucking ace, man" Cook laughed

"What are you watching?" She asked

"Some reality shit show"

"And you find it amusing because?"

"Well-"

Cook was cut off by the sound of her phone going off before he was able to respond.

The thing with people is that as much predictable as you might think they are, they always find a way to surprise you. After that night at the pub, Naomi thought she would never get the opportunity to see Emily again, yes, she gave the redhead her phone number, but it had been weeks now. And she had honestly lost any hope of seeing her again. London is a big city after all.

So when Emily finally called, it took Naomi by surprise.

"Who was that?" Asked Cook, after she hung up

"Emily" She simply replied

"Oh so she finally called"

"Am I missing something?" Asked JJ, confusion all over his face, she loved the guy even though he could be oblivious as hell.

"Didn't you notice? Blondie here has been pining over her ever since that night at the pub" He said matter-of-factly

"I did not" she denied

"Yeah, right. What did she want?"

"She wants me to show her around"

"Is it a date?" He asked with a grin

"No you idiot, I barely even know her"

"You fancy her, though" Her friend stated with a grin waiting for her to snap at him "Oh Naomikins, your silence speaks volumes"

"Shut up"

"We could have a threesome you know, after you bone her that is"

"I'm not looking for a shag"

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's not like I try to shag every woman I see. I'm not like you" She said whilst sitting next to JJ on the sofa

"Whatever you say Blondie" He said, laughing, before turning his attention back to the telly

* * *

><p>Two days went by and Naomi found herself outside Emily's flat. To say Naomi was nervous would be an understatement, she didn't exactly want to think about how things were going to turn out, she didn't want to expect anything so that her expectations wouldn't be shattered if anything went wrong. She didn't really know Emily; she couldn't expect anything from her.<p>

She knocked at the door, after a while it swung open. There she was, Emily.

"Hi" The redhead greeted her with a shy smile

"Hey"

"Did it take you long to get here?" she asked, staring at the floor

"Actually, it was a 15 minute walk from my flat"

"Good"

"Do you want to go get some coffee? You know, before we start our tour" She offered

"Yeah, sure" she complied

* * *

><p>"Did you always know?" the redhead asked breaking the silence<p>

"Pardon?"

"Did you always know you wanted to be an artist?"

"I always knew I wanted to paint. I just didn't know I could make a living out of it"

"What would you be now? If you didn't paint for a living, I mean"

"I thought about going to uni and studying politics, but that didn't work "

"Why not?"

"I just kept postponing it, and even though a degree is important to get a job, I don't think it determines the amount of knowledge you have of certain subjects. I mean yeah it gives you the tools to obtain knowledge but that depends on the person and what you make out of it. I wanted the knowledge but I don't really think uni is for me now" She explained

"Yeah, I understand"

"What about you?"

"I wanted to go to uni, get an English degree and a stable job. But I never did; it's too late for that now tough"

"Why?"

"I don't know, it doesn't seem like the right time"

"But you still want to"

"From time to time, yeah"

"Well, I think you should do anything you want to. I mean it's never too late, you can't be too old. Even if you were 80, it doesn't matter as long as you're happy doing whatever pleases you"

"Really?"

"Yeah, as long as it makes you happy that is" She replied looking at the redhead right in the eyes

* * *

><p>They spent the rest of the day walking around town, occasionally going into interesting looking shops, galleries and such. By the evening they were already tired so both of them decided to take a break from their so called tour. They both sat at a park bench, simply staring into space. It was rather beautiful the landscape…. as well as Emily, the blonde thought, she looked so peaceful, so content.<p>

"Thank you-" She said without looking at the blonde girl by her side "You know, for all this. It's nice, being around you"

"You're not so bad yourself-" She said staring right at her "You know Cook's being trying to drag me to this new club; he made me promise we would go on Friday. Do you want to come?"

"I don't want to be on your way" She replied

"You won't, I mean he always disappears in the middle of the night and it would be nice, having someone interesting to talk to." She was quick to add

"Oh"

"Effy can tag along as well. You can bring anyone you want to. Freddie seemed quite…Uhm… interested in getting to know her, actually"

"Yeah, she usually has that effect on people"

"How so?"

"I don't know, I guess you could say that's part of her charm"

"Oh, how long have you known each other?"

"We met in college, we became friends right away"

"I see"

"I'll tell her then-" She said with a smile "You know, I'm really tired, I think I'll call it a day"

"Yeah sure, I'll walk you home" She offered

"Ok, that'll be nice"

* * *

><p>It didn't take them long to get to her flat, most of the walk was spent talking about everything but nothing at once, just random facts about each other and what they liked. It wasn't meaningless talk though; it didn't seem like it to Naomi, All these little things, they were part of who Emily was and that couldn't be meaningless, right?<p>

"So, this was fun" Said Emily once they reached her building

"I'm glad you enjoyed it"

"Yeah…Thanks… See you soon" She said

Then out of the blue, Emily's lips connected to Naomi's cheek, she quickly entered her building after. Words could not describe the amount of feelings she felt right then, It was like been set on fire. Not that she had experienced that before, but still.

"No problem…" She whispered

There was no one around to hear her though


	5. Chapter 5

**So, it's been a while, I meant to update before, but I've been really busy. I want to thank everyone who has reviewed this story so far; it's great to know what you all think. Special thanks to fookyeahskins for reviewing every chapter until now, you're really nice, I don't think Freffy will happen, though. **

**So here it goes…**

* * *

><p><em>It was past midnight; the two friends had been walking for almost an hour, the night was cold. Usually she wouldn't be out at this time when she had college the next day, but Cook had been really persistent and she complied to what he wanted.<em>

_"Where are we going Cook?" She asked after a while_

_He came to a stop and turned around to look at her_

_ "We're here!" He said, more excited than usual_

_"I don't get it" She said as she looked around_

_"C'mon, Fredster is waiting inside for us" He motioned to the building in front of him_

* * *

><p><em>Inside Freddie was waiting in what seemed to be the lobby, It wasn't a shabby looking place but it wasn't posh either. It looked nice, cozy she thought.<em>

_"Hey, You're finally here. I've been waiting for fucking hours" He said as he stand up_

_"What are we doing here?" She asked, still confused_

_"Just follow us…It's a surprise" He said lifting his hands to emphasize on the "surprise" part_

* * *

><p><em>After taking the lift to the 5th floor and walking around the hall for a bit, the dark haired boy came to a stop in front of a door, after fighting with the lock for a bit, he simply kicked the door open with a swift move. He motioned both of his friends to get inside. It was dark, it smelled like shit and it seemed to be abandoned.<em>

_"Did we just broke into somebody's flat?" Asked Naomi as she looked behind her_

_"What? No! it's just… The lock doesn't work properly" Freddie explained as he turned on the lights_

_"So?"_

_"It's ours!" Cook screamed_

_"What?" She asked perplexed_

_"Grandma left it to me for when I turned 18" _

_"Why didn't you tell us before then?" She questioned him_

_"I didn't know shit about it, dad never told me. But it was on her will. So…" He smiled at her "It's ours! You know how we never find anywhere to hang out together and shit, this can be our place…"_

_"Imagine it Blondie!..." Cook cut him off, excited as he bounced around "…us three living together, without putting up with anyone's shit, yeah. We can get pissed every day and have somewhere to come back to. No offense Naomikins, but as much as I love Gina, I think she doesn't like it very much when we stay at her place after coming from a night out completely shitfaced, yeah?"_

_Freddie started talking again "…As I was saying, I know it looks a bit shit and the heat doesn't work properly and stuff but it has lots of space and it's great, everything can be fixed later"_

_ "So we won't have to pay for rent?"_

_"Not at all"_

_"When are we moving in?" _

_"I dunno, it has no furniture… We have to at least get a couch"_

_"Huh…" _

_"Chillax Blondie, as long as we stick together everything will be alright, yeah?" Said Cook putting his arms around both of his friends_

_"Ok" She finally complied_

_"Deal?"_

_"Deal, although, I'll have to talk to mum and…"_

_"No worries Blondie, she knows you're safe with the Cookie Monster"_

_"Right…"_

* * *

><p><em>And it did, everything turned out alright. Gina let Naomi move out not before making her promise to go visit and call her on daily basis, after all, she was still 17. Her mother had the right to feel worried. Fixing up the flat wasn't as easy as they thought it would be at the first place though.<em>

_"I swear I just saw a fucking rat!" She screamed as she run into the living room_

_"What? Where?" Asked Cook placing his paint brush on the floor_

_They had been painting all morning trying to make the flat look less shit, than it was._

_"I saw it getting inside your room" She said whilst she paced around the room_

_They had already decided which room would belong to each one of them; it didn't matter though they were basically the same size._

_"Ok, I'll go get it"_

_After a few minutes, cook got out of his room, holding a little rat by its tale._

_"Look, I've named it Johnny" He said taking it with his hand_

_"You're not really thinking about keeping it, right?" asked Naomi, incredulous_

_"Would you rather cook it?" He asked, stepping closer to her _

_"Fuck off!, get it away from me"_

_"What? Is Naomikins afraid of little Johnny here?" He asked whilst holding it in the air_

_"Cook! What if there's more?" She asked turning to Freddie_

_"Well, we haven't moved in yet. And I know this guy who can look for any other… Johnnies that might be living in here"_

_"Can I keep it thought?" Asked Cook_

_"What? No!, god knows what kind of diseases that thing is carrying around" Said Naomi pointing to the little rat on his hand_

_"And I bet you'll let it starve to death" Added Freddie_

_"Yeah that as well"_

_"Oh, I guess I'll just cook it then" He said shrugging_

_"You're fucking disgusting and a six year old"_

_"Yeah but you love it"_

_It took a while for Cook to let "Johnny" go, turns out "Johnny" was the only "Johnny" living in their flat. It started to look decent after a while; It was their place, their sanctuary. They could do whatever they wanted with it. As months went by it started getting better and better. It wasn't the fanciest place on earth, but it had attitude or something like that, It was them._

* * *

><p>"Naomikins! Are you ready?" Shouted his friend, bringing her back to the present as he bounced around the room just like he did many years before<p>

"Yeah, would you just stop shouting?" She looked up at him

"I'm telling you, man. This night will be fucking ace, I feel it" He said putting an arm around her shoulders before storming off the flat.

"Hey, Naomi" Said Freddie, waiting for her to catch up with him

"Yeah?"

"Is Effy coming?"

"I don't know, I don't even know if Emily is coming, for sure"

"Oh…"

Freddie, he was a great guy, really. But all of his friends knew it didn't take long for him to fall in love with girls, he was like that. The problem was that he didn't handle well rejection or breakups so it was Naomi and Cook's responsibility to put back all the pieces together, he was really emotional but he hid it away, he always ignored all of his problems, he tried to avoid any sort of confrontation, he didn't want to deal with things, so he didn't have to be more disappointed. After all, he thought it was easier that way.

* * *

><p>A couple of hours later, they were already at the club. Emily and Effy met them shortly after they got there, both girls were currently dancing. They seemed quite comfortable around each other.<p>

Emily, how could she put it in words? She swayed around the dancefloor like she owned the place, she seemed quite confident and powerful it was just a beautiful but frightening sight all at once. She was a quite complex creature, she was oh so magnificent and pleasant to look at .

"Hey Blondie, Hey Blondie" Her friend said trying to gain her attention

"…yeah?" She asked still not tearing her eyes from where the redhead was dancing

"Stop doing that it's fucking creepy"

"Stop doing what?" She asked turning to see him

"That staring thing you do" He said as he motioned towards the dancefloor where Emily and Effy kept dancing

"I wasn't"

"I know she's fucking mint and all, but she seems quite sweet and all, not the kind of bird that…"

"I'm not…"

"Oh c'mon same thing has happened over and over again, you find some bird, she's fit you're fit and the you lose interest"

"I've never"

"Let me name some, that girl Jenny, Mary, Sophia, Claire…"

"Fuck off! It's not like that"

"I'm just telling you, man. I don't want her knocking at our door and shouting about how much of a prick you are after you're done"

"I told you, I wouldn't shag her"

"You've said that before"

"Whatever, who are you to talk like that anyways, you'd shag anything that moves. Why do you even care? It's not like you're friends"

"Yeah, but they always know. I know we're not, I'm just telling you. Is she even gay?"

"I don't know, it doesn't matter. I won't do anything"

"Right, let's see how long that lasts" He said, making his way to the bar

She knew he was right, well sort of. Yes lots of girls had caught her interest in the past, but Emily was different, she was actually nice and funny. Why would she try to shatter something that could be actually good for her, she still wasn't sure though. She didn't know if she had met Emily before or if she was just being delusional about the whole thing.

"Hey Blondie"

"What?" She snapped at him

"Oi! Don't be so fucking pissy, I was just saying… Here's your beer"

"Right, thanks…"

She saw the redhead walking back to where their booth, she looked so different from how she did when she was dancing, was that the real her? Perhaps that was just a facade. Her being so shy and all or maybe it was the other way around, Naomi couldn't really tell. She still wanted to know, though. Her interest on the petite redhead kept growing at a incredibly fast pace.

"This is actually really nice-" Said Emily as she sat by Naomi's side "-Are you alright?" she asked looking concerned

"Yeah, I was just thinking"

"May I know what you were thinking about?"

"No I mean, Nevermind…I just get stuck in my head sometimes" She explained, sipping her beer

"Oh…ok, I haven't seen you dancing at all, tough"

"I'm not really good at that, I usually just dance when I'm drunk"

"Let's get you drunk, then"

"Are you trying to take advantage of me, Miss Fitch?"

The redhead simply blushed

"No, I'm just trying to get you to enjoy yourself" she said, still looking down

"Who says I'm not already?" She smiled at the girl beside her

* * *

><p>An alarming amount of alcohol later, Naomi found herself swaying at the beat of the music with Emily in front of her. From what Naomi could tell the redhead had her eyes closed and her arms up her head. Out of instinct Naomi placed her hands on the redhead's hips; aware of what she had done she pulled away immediately. Emily noticed this so, she turned around and looked at her; taking Naomi hands on her own she firmly placed them back on her hips.<p>

_"It's only the alcohol" _Naomi thought

This wasn't the same shy girl she'd met a month ago, it was different. A good kind of different, though. Facing her, Emily placed her arms around the taller girl's shoulders bringing them closer.

"Hey, I was wondering. I'll be at the gallery tomorrow. You can come, I'll show you some stuff. And then we can have some lunch, If you want to" Naomi said leaning down into her ear.

Opening her eyes, the redhead simply nodded as she smiled at her. She stared at the redheads eyes in awe. She was beautiful, the real kind of beautiful, not the fake shit they show you in magazines. She was so pure, so fragile but so strong all at once. She was someone who deserved to be looked at, she had this mysterious aura around her, this was the kind of girl people spent their lives looking for. And she was lucky enough to have her in front of her.

"You know, you're quite beautiful" It was barely a whisper she didn't thought would be heard

"What?" Emily asked even though she did hear, she couldn't bring herself to believe it

"No-Nothing" She said looking away

They kept dancing like that for a while, it was easy, being with her that is.

* * *

><p>She was currently waiting for Emily, sitting outside the gallery, she felt nervous somehow. Perhaps, Emily would see the similarities, herself in Naomi's artwork. Not that there was an actual portrait of her in there. Naomi had only actually painted her once and said painting was still at her flat. It wasn't that obvious, right? The interest she had on the redhead. This kind of thing happened all the time, feeling attracted to people, it wasn't anything unusual, it couldn't be.<p>

"Sorry, I'm late. I had stuff to do" Said the redhead, snapping her out her thoughts, she was so immersed into her head that she didn't noticed her walking up to her.

"No, it's ok. You're here now" She reassured her with a little smile

Standing up, she made her way to the door holding it open for Emily to get in.

"Is this yours?" She asked, once they were in staring at an abstract painting in front of her

"No, that's from a guy named Pete. My stuff is over there" She said pointing at the far end of the room

"Really?"

"Yup"

"This is really good" she said looking at it "How did you learn to do this?"

"I don't know, I just… you just look at things and try to recreate them on canvas, you just do it the way you see it"

"You make it sound so easy"

"Well, I mean, you just…can't rationalize it"

"It's different, you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"Most of the stuff in here is abstract, cubist, surrealist, that sort of thing. But yours is more…post-Impressionist it sort of reminds of Vuillard, Toulouse, Cézanne, Van Gogh"

"Wow, that's a huge compliment"

"It's true, though. Where do you get your inspiration from?"

"Huh, I guess everything. When we are kids everything is an adventure, everything is wonderful. But we tend to forget about it as we grow, everything has a story behind it, you just have to pay attention. I guess I'm just trying not to forget, you know?"

The redhead nodded at her, they kept walking around in silence, it was comfortable. But Emily seemed to be hesitant about something after a bit, she just let it out.

"Did you mean it?" The redhead asked, breaking the silence

"What I just said?" Asked Naomi, clearly confused

"No, what you said last night. About me being beautiful"

That totally took her off guard; she thought she didn't hear her

"Yeah totally-" She tried to sound as confident as she could "How could anyone not see it? I thought you were used to people saying that all the time"

"Not many have said that before" She said, looking down

"Well, they must be blind. It's obvious-" The Blonde said lifting up Emily's chin for her eyes to meet her own "-I have the feeling you don't smile much, but when you do everything around you…it just stops, I've seen it happening. And your eyes they show so much but so little at the same time, that you just want to know more, it's addicting, and I know this might sound ridiculous due to the fact the we've only just met… But I really mean it" She looked straight into her eyes

A smile made its way into the redheads face, causing the world around Naomi to stop once more.


End file.
